Unfortunately I was let go from my educational administrator job almost two years ago. As a family, we were forced to make several tough decisions about our lifestyle. We had to make tough decisions regarding what we considered luxuries such as eating out and going to the movies. We needed a new car, our house needed work, and the list seemed endless. Ultimately, we decided that we would only buy things we needed and would cut out all of our avoidable spending. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it has been tough at times, but the experience has taught us the meaning of sacrifice and responsibility and has been very good for our family.

Sadly a large majority of our society seems to have the opposite approach. Inexplicably, it has become acceptable in this country to live beyond your means. Take a look around. You will see expensive homes deserted, people driving cars they can't afford just to impress, and restaurants full of people spending a fortune of a meal.

This has obviously been passed on to our children. Teenagers are driven by a need to impress classmates with clothes, cars, jewelry, phones and other technology. Remarkably, the average 16 year old will spend in excess of one hundered dollars a week. With this being said, the numbers also show that only 40% of this age group has a paying job. So apparently not only have we done a poor job of teaching our children to be fiscally responsible, we are perpetuating the problem by contributing to their spending habits.

As these children move into young adulthood, what will the result of their upbringing be? It's simple; they become the young adults who live beyond their means running up credit card debt and making purchases they cannot afford.

However, keep in mind that the epidemic of overspending is certainly not limited to young adults and students. There is also an epidemic of Americans who are older who are making purchases everyday they don't really need using a credit cards.

Ultimately, this lifestyle will catch up with the offenders. Buying things just because you want them or want to impress others may seem like a good idea at the time, but when you discover you are paying over twenty percent interest on your credit card, it may be a wake up call. You will then further discover that everytime you make a late payment, your credit rating will take a huge hit. At the end of the day, you will be unable to get a conventional loan due to the poor credit rating and will have to resort to a one hundred or more percent interest payday loan or find a way to get an adverse credit loan. Once in the grip of debt, you sink and are unlikely to ever surface again.

What it boils down to is that you must stop buying things for yourself or your children that you don't need and/or can't afford. Remember, if you don't have enough cash to pay for something, you should pass on it. Consider cutting up all credit cards and using only a debit card which takes the money directly out of your checking account. Do not give your child a credit card with free reign to use it!

In conclusion, use common sense when making purchases and teach the same mantra to your children.

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